Bassassin Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 I've wanted one of these for a ridiculously long time. Big fan of Yammy SGs in general but I've always loved this particular model - the unadorned front & visible through-neck make seem it less of a Gibson variation than most of the rest of the SG range. This is a Yamaha SG1500, dated 1984 according to the pickup codes. What's interesting, unlike any other SG I've seen, is that it has no serial number on the headstock or model number on its truss rod cover - according to the guy I got it from, its previous (first) owner got it direct from Kemble Yamaha when the Kemble piano factory closed, so it presumably sat around for a long time after the model was discontinued. As Kemble was Yamaha's UK distributor I can only assume it was a not-for-sale sample that sales reps would have taken around their dealer network - I've heard of similar not-quite-retail models being used in this way before. Anyway, it's fairly well-gigged and has a few knocks & bumps, but also has been well looked-after, plays perfectly and is 100% original. Sounds immense, too. And did I get a bargain? Oh yes, I think I did... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) Nice find. The Yammy SG's are excellent guitars, always fancied one, but never owned one, played a few and they were great. These and the Ibanez Artist's were real Les Paul killers (owned a few Artist's over the years, want another). Doesn't that have the push/pull pots for coil tapping? Edited February 1, 2018 by Skybone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Nice! I've never been fortunate enough to own one but used to lust after them back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 What an excellent find. Very nice indeed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 6 hours ago, Skybone said: Doesn't that have the push/pull pots for coil tapping? It does - in fact they're push/push, just to be flash! Very versatile it is too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Very swish, get you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 Yeh. Can't play it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Looks hefty, does it weigh a ton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manwithvan Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Lovely. I sold an MSG in the late 1990s. Everyone told me it sounded fantastic. I hate myself sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofthewind Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Very nice. Yamaha quality all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 05/01/2019 at 00:03, Manwithvan said: Lovely. I sold an MSG in the late 1990s. Everyone told me it sounded fantastic. I hate myself sometimes. I have two at the moment. One has a set of Armstrong 57 PAF's in and it's very hard to tell the difference from a LP. It makes some nice jazz noises on the neck pickup too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manwithvan Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 4 hours ago, Kiwi said: I have two at the moment. One has a set of Armstrong 57 PAF's in and it's very hard to tell the difference from a LP. It makes some nice jazz noises on the neck pickup too. Grrrr! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Just now, Manwithvan said: Grrrr! No, go and look again - it’s spelled “guitar” not “grrr”. 3 out of 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 On 31/01/2018 at 17:36, Bassassin said: the unadorned front & visible through-neck make seem it less of a Gibson variation than most of the rest of the SG range. This is a Yamaha SG1500, dated 1984 according to the pickup codes Because I've read too much about Chris Poland this year, this set me off looking up info on the SG1500. I found a blog post which gave the history: "When Yamaha introduced the highly acclaimed SG2000 they also introduced a SG1500. In a 1976 flyer where Yamaha introduces the new SG series the SG 1500 appears as second in line after the SG2000. Including sustain plate, T-cross maple etc. This first SG1500 is very close to the original SG2000, but with a set neck instead of the through neck, chrome hardware instead of gold plated, dot inlays instead of block inlays. This SG1500 can be found in catalogs up to 1979 so let’s call that the 76-79 SG1500. "Then in the Japanese 1982 catalogue a new SG1500 is featured: one with block inlays, gold hardware, triple line binding on the head, and with through neck, no seperate top. This SG1500 one is never mentioned in non Japanese catalogs. I don’t know how long it was made. In the 1985 Japanese catalogue this SG1500 is gone. We should call this the 82-84 SG1500." This made me wonder: does this mean that the only differences between later SG1500 and the SG2000 are cosmetic? But then I read on. "Due to the lack of the seperate top on this guitar the neck through design can be seen from the front. No other neck through SG had that. The neck of most neck through SG’s was made of 3 parts of wood with maple in the middle but the 82-84 SG1500 had a 5 piece neck with two pieces of maple" Since this is a desperately dull, pointless post, here's three minutes of Chris Poland playing an SBG 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Love the old Yamaha SGs, great find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 On 25/08/2021 at 08:24, Ricky Rioli said: Since this is a desperately dull, pointless post, here's three minutes of Chris Poland playing an SBG Not dull & pointless at all - well, not to someone as dull & pointless as me... The 80s 1500 is definitely an outlier within the SG range & it's quite odd they used the same number as an already established model. There are enough of them around in the UK & EU to indicate it wasn't Japan-only but seemingly wasn't available in the US (where it would've been an SBG1500), which I'd assume was Yamaha's biggest overseas market. It did sit in the gap between SG2000S & SG1000, but in terms of spec is probably a bit closer to its little sibling, lacking the sustain plate & (as far as I can tell from the little available spec info) the Spinex pickups of the '80s 2000S. I'm inclined to think the 80s SG1500, with its visible 5-part through-neck & no scratchplate, was mostly to do with having a guitar in the range that reflected the popular aesthetic of the era, like a number of Yamaha's other instruments already did. So - basically marketing to appeal to shallow fashion victims who like stripey guitars. Like me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 What is an SG3000 ? https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/145/85/2004-Yamaha-Custom-Shop-SG3000-Professional-electric-guitar-made-in-Japan-ser-no-QxxxxxI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 On 28/08/2021 at 09:06, pete.young said: What is an SG3000 ? https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/145/85/2004-Yamaha-Custom-Shop-SG3000-Professional-electric-guitar-made-in-Japan-ser-no-QxxxxxI The SG3000 was the one past the SG2000 (and a little later). It is the one with everything, neck through, binding, weight. They go for quite a lot but unlike most things that go for quite a lot just because they are old, they are actually very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted September 1, 2021 Author Share Posted September 1, 2021 First SG I ever played was a 3000, at some point in the mid '80s. A guitarist mate from another band had an odd way of getting hold of incredibly high-end stuff, and turned up one day with this gorgeous pearl white/abalone/gold SG3000. He also had an original '50s gold-top Gibson LP, could never quite work out what was going on there... The auction estimate for that's very low (tends to be the case with Gardiner Houlgate, unless it's a US Fender or Gibson), this could easily fetch double that price. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 It went for £1800 hammer price plus 26% in the end, so probably about right. Not to me unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 Had a black SG2000 back in the day. Ex Jimmy Page guitar with providence, although I never ever saw him use one. Fantastic sound but a little too heavy. Another one of my great moves, selling that😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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